468 



NEW ENGLAND FARMEK. 



Oct. 



Notwithstanding the continual wet weather about 

 planting time, they succeeded in putting in six 

 hundred acres of corn, and by constant care and 

 attention, they can show the tallest corn in the 

 neighborhood. Fifteen shovel plows and three 

 cultivators, worked by eighteen men and twenty- 

 five horses, are kept in constant requisition ; and 

 the result is that scarcely a weed can be seen in 

 the well plowed furrows. Twenty-five German 

 girls follow the plow, and do the hoeing, for which 

 they receive 02.^ cents per day. The men receive 

 $20 a month. The view of the mound upon which 

 the "log cabin" stands, is exceedingly beautiful. 

 Far as the eye can reach, as you look down towards 

 the "sunny banks" of the Scioto, the summer 

 breezes stir the waving corn. — Coluinbus ( Ohio) 

 State Journal. 



WAGES. 



[The Hon. Amasa Walker, late Secretary of the 

 State of Massachusetts, has delivered a lecture be- 

 fore the Commercial and Nautical Institute of 

 Boston, upon the subject of Wages. Wo take 

 pleasure in extracting some portions of it into our 

 columns : ] 



NOMINAL AND KEAL WAGES. 



There is often a considerable difference between 

 nominal and real wages, or between the wages of 

 the employee when reckoned in money, or when re- 

 alized in such commodities as his wants require. 



Man does not work for money, but for that 

 which money will buy. It may happen that with 

 high money wages he may get very low merchan- 

 dise wages; nay more, it may be true that when 

 he has the largest nominal, he will generally have 

 the smallest real wages. 



As this question is one of fact, I have taken the 

 pains to ascertain the wages of labor at three dif- 

 ferent periods, and also the prices of ten different 

 commodities, such as tlie labor would naturally 

 purchase at the same periods, and the result is as 

 folio W8 : 



Wages. Wages. Wages. 



$1,25 per day. $1 per day. $1 per day. 



1836. 1840. 1843. 



1 barrel flour, $9,50 $5,50 $4,75 



25 lbs. sugar, at 9c 2,25 2,00 1,62 



10 gals, molasses, 42^, 4,25 2,70 1,80 



i bbl.pork, 4.50 8,50 5,00 



14 lbs. coffee, 12i, 1,75 1,50 5,00 



23 lbs. rice, 1,25 1,00 75 



1 bushel corn meal, 96 65 62 



1 do. rye meal, 1,08 83 73 



4,80 4,20 



6,60 

 2,00 



1,60 



1,40 



30 lbs. butter, 22c 

 20 lbs. cheese, 10c 



$44,00 $28,98 $22,00 



Such are the wages of a common laborer in Bos- 

 ton in the years mentioned above, and such the 

 prices of the commodities specified. 



It appears then that in 1836 it required the la- 

 bor of 34^ days (omitting in all cases unimpor- 

 tant fractions) to pay Ibr the above aommodities; 

 while in 1840 it required only the labor of 29 days, 

 and in 1843 that of only 23i days to pay for the 

 same : and thus the important fact is disclosed 

 that while the nominal rate of wages was higher 

 by 25 per cent, in 183G than in 1840 or in 1843, 

 yet real wages were 22 per cont. in 1840, and 29 

 per cent, in 1843, higlier than in 183G. 



Thi.s affords a striking illustration of the differ- 

 ence between money wages and corn wages, as 

 they are eometimeg called ; or in other words, be- 



tween the nominal and actual reward which the 

 laborer receives for his services. 



We do not say that there would be through- 

 out as great a difference as shown by the forego- 

 ing table, because all commodities would not vary 

 perhaps as much within a short period as those 

 we have selected. Rent and some other charges 

 which the laborer must incur, would not perhaps 

 be as much affected by fluctuations iu prices, yet 

 the foi'egoing undoubtedly affords an approximar 

 tion to the general fact, and is sufficient not only 

 to establish our principle, but to prove that the 

 subject is worthy the attention of political econo- 

 mists as well as laborers. 



x\nother obvious difference between nominal and 

 real wages arises from a mere change of location. 

 For example, a carpenter who could obtain but 

 $1,25 in Vermont, might by going to New York 

 city get $2, or to New Orleans $2,50 ; yet it 

 would be found, perhaps, that if all things were 

 taken into the account, if the expenses of main- 

 taining himself and family in health and comfort 

 were well considered, the wages obtained in Ver- 

 mont might be greater than in New York or New 

 Ox-leans. 



PROPORTIONATE RISE AND FALL OF WAGES. 



Although wages rise and fall with the general 

 rise and fall of commodities, they do not do so in 

 equal proportion. The fact is one of common ob- 

 servation ; but the i-eason of this variation we 

 don't recollect to have seen stated. It is, how- 

 ever, apparent on a little reflection. For all ma- 

 terial products, there is both an actual and a spec- 

 ulative demand — for labor tliere is only an actual 

 demand. When business begins to be particular- 

 ly prosperous, and there is a general demand for 

 ill kinds of merchandise, prices will gradually 

 begin to improve. This give rise at once to 

 a speculative demand, for to buy will be to rea- 

 lize and advance ; the larger the purchases, the 

 greater the profits ; for every operation pays. 

 The speculative demand goes on until every arti- 

 cle bought and sold as merchandise goes up to its 

 highest limit. 



But no one speculates in wages. No one can, 

 if he would, purchase a hundred thousand dollars' 

 worth of labor and hold it for an advance as he 

 can of every article that the laborer consumes. 

 Of course, labor lias no advantage of this kind of 

 demand which affects other things, but must rely 

 entirely on that which is immediate arid actual. 

 Therefore, a general rise of prices must always 

 operate against the laborer or person employed on 

 salary or wages. 



But wages not only never rise so much as other 

 commodities, but never rise so soon. The reason 

 is that the rise of commodities is greatly accelera- 

 ted ])y the speculative demand, while labor is not 

 as before stated, aflected by that kind of deraaud 

 at all. Hence, it docs not rise until speculation 

 has engendered a spirit of extravagance and in- 

 creased consumption, and then wages take an ad- 

 vantage about half as great on an average as that, 

 of merchandise and other things. 



Wages fall sooner, because merchandise maybe 

 and is held for high prices, if need be. Its falLi^ 

 broken l)y the disposition and ability of the own- 

 ers to hold on, and as far as possible prevent loss, 

 but the laborer cannot hold on — he must sell his 

 commodity at once for the most it will bring. 



It is for this very obvious reason that wages, in 



